Shopify Web Development: The Complete 2026 Guide
Shopify web development in 2026 means building on Online Store 2.0 themes, including the block-based Horizon family, customizing checkout with Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions now that checkout.liquid and Scripts are retired, and going headless with Hydrogen only when it pays off. Standard plans run $39 to $399 a month billed monthly.
- Themes
- Checkout Extensibility
- Shopify Functions
- Custom Apps
- Hydrogen
- Shopify Plus
Shopify Web Development in 2026: What Changed
Shopify web development is the technical work of building, customizing and extending Shopify stores, and the toolset changed a lot in two years.
Shopify is one of the largest commerce platforms in the world. The company reports more than $1 trillion in sales made by businesses on Shopify to date and says about 10% of U.S. ecommerce sales are processed through it (Shopify). Its merchants processed $115.6 billion in gross merchandise volume in the second quarter of 2026 alone, up 32% from a year earlier (Shopify Q2 2026 results).
The way developers build on Shopify has also changed a lot in two years. The legacy checkout.liquid file and Shopify Scripts are gone, replaced by Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions. Theme development has moved to blocks, with the Horizon themes released in 2025. Hydrogen, Shopify’s headless framework, now runs on React Router. And a store built on 2023 assumptions may already be out of date. If you want that work done for you, our Shopify development service covers themes, checkout upgrades, integrations and migrations.
What This Guide Covers
- • Current Shopify plans, pricing and payment fees
- • Online Store 2.0 theme architecture and the Horizon themes
- • Checkout Extensibility, the checkout.liquid and Scripts deadlines, and Shopify Functions
- • Custom apps, integrations and headless builds with Hydrogen
- • Shopify Plus, and how to choose a development partner
Shopify by the Numbers, and What It Costs in 2026
How big Shopify is, what each plan costs per month, and what you pay per card transaction.
Figures are company-reported by Shopify.
Shopify Plans (U.S., October 2026)
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Online card rate | Third-party payment fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | $29 | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2% |
| Grow | $105 | $79 | 2.7% + 30¢ | 1% |
| Advanced | $399 | $299 | 2.5% + 30¢ | 0.6% |
| Plus | From $2,300 (3-yr term) / $2,500 (1-yr term) | n/a | 2.25% + 30¢ | 0.2% |
Sources: Shopify pricing; Shopify Plus pricing. Shopify also lists a $0 Agentic plan for selling only in AI channels, and the Starter plan is no longer available to new stores (Shopify Help Center). New stores currently get a 3-day free trial, then $1/month for 3 months. Check the pricing page before you sign up; offers change. Still choosing a platform? See Shopify vs WooCommerce or Shopify vs a custom website.
Fast to Launch
Hosting, checkout and payments are ready on day one, so development time goes into the storefront and the integrations that make your business different.
Extensible Without Forking
Apps, theme blocks, checkout extensions and Functions let you customize behavior without maintaining a fork of the platform, so Shopify’s upgrades keep reaching your store.
Managed Infrastructure
Shopify runs the servers, SSL certificates and checkout, so your team isn’t patching hosting or maintaining payment pages.
Theme Development: Online Store 2.0 and Horizon
How modern Shopify themes are structured, and when a custom theme or a migration makes sense.
Online Store 2.0 Architecture
Modern themes use JSON templates, which store a list of sections and their settings, so merchants can add and remove sections on any page. Each template can hold up to 25 sections with up to 50 blocks each (Shopify docs). Liquid remains Shopify’s theme templating language (Shopify docs).
- ✓ Sections everywhere, edited in the theme editor
- ✓ App blocks so apps add content without editing theme code (docs)
- ✓ Older vintage themes should be migrated to 2.0
Horizon and Theme Blocks
In May 2025 Shopify introduced Horizon, a collection of free themes built with theme blocks (Shopify changelog). Theme blocks are defined at the theme level and can be nested inside each other, giving merchants far more layout control than fixed sections (Shopify docs).
- ✓ Nested, reusable blocks for flexible layouts
- ✓ A strong base for custom themes for a single brand
- ✓ New Theme Store submissions must start from Shopify’s Skeleton theme, not Dawn or Horizon (requirements)
Custom Theme Development
A custom theme fits your brand and merchandising exactly. Build it with Shopify CLI (shopify theme dev, theme push) and lint it with Theme Check, which checks the Liquid and JSON in your theme (CLI, Theme Check).
- ✓ Custom design and branding
- ✓ Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) performance budgets
- ✓ WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility
Platform Migration
Moving from WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce or a custom platform is mostly a data and SEO project. Products, customers and order history move over, and every old URL needs a 301 redirect.
- ✓ Data migration (products, customers, orders)
- ✓ URL mapping and redirects to protect rankings
- ✓ Staging-store testing before DNS cutover
Checkout Extensibility and Shopify Functions
Which legacy checkout tools are gone, on what dates, and what replaces them.
checkout.liquid Is Retired
- August 13, 2024: checkout.liquid customizations stopped working on the information, shipping and payment pages (changelog).
- August 28, 2025: checkout.liquid and additional scripts were sunset on the Thank you and Order status pages (docs).
- August 26, 2026: the upgrade deadline for stores on non-Plus plans (Help Center).
Checkout customization now happens through Checkout Extensibility: checkout UI extensions, pixels for tracking, and Functions for backend logic.
Scripts Replaced by Functions
Editing and publishing Shopify Scripts ended April 15, 2026, and all Scripts stopped running on June 30, 2026 (Shopify changelog).
Shopify Functions let developers customize Shopify’s backend logic. They compile to WebAssembly, with templates for Rust and JavaScript (Shopify docs). Common uses:
- • Custom discounts and bundles
- • Hiding, reordering or renaming payment and delivery options
- • Cart and checkout validation
- • Order routing and fulfillment rules
Public App Store apps with Functions work on any plan; custom apps using Function APIs require Plus.
Not sure your store is on current tools?
Send us your store URL and goals, and we’ll review the site and send you a personalized growth plan within a few business days.
Custom Shopify App Development
When the App Store doesn’t have what you need, a custom app fits your exact workflow. Our guide to Shopify app development goes deeper on scoping one.
Unique Functionality
Features designed around your business processes
Fewer Subscriptions
One purpose-built app can replace several overlapping ones
Clean Integration
Direct connections to the systems you already run
Public Apps
Distributed to other merchants through the Shopify App Store, with OAuth installation, App Store review and Shopify’s billing API.
- App Store listing and review
- OAuth installation flow
- Multi-store architecture
- Billing and subscription management
Custom Apps
Built for a single store (Shopify’s replacement for the old “private apps”), for internal tools and store-specific logic.
- Admin extensions and dashboards
- Workflow automation
- Custom reporting
- Checkout UI extensions and Functions (Function APIs need Plus)
Popular Custom App Use Cases
Subscription Management
Recurring billing, customer portals and automated fulfillment.
Product Customization
Configurators, custom options and personalization tools.
Inventory Management
Multi-location tracking and automated reordering.
Loyalty Programs
Points, rewards and referral programs.
Wholesale & B2B
Customer-specific pricing, bulk ordering and account management.
Booking Systems
Appointments, calendars and availability tracking.
Integrations, Headless and AI Tools
Which systems stores usually connect to Shopify, and when a headless Hydrogen build is worth it.
Common Integration Types
ERP Systems
NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP and others for inventory, orders and finance.
CRM Platforms
Salesforce, HubSpot and Zoho CRM for customer records and sales pipelines.
Email & SMS Marketing
Klaviyo, Mailchimp and Shopify Email for automated campaigns.
Fulfillment & Shipping
3PLs, warehouse systems and carrier integrations.
Headless with Hydrogen
Hydrogen is Shopify’s framework for custom headless storefronts, built on React Router. Shopify’s Oxygen hosting is included at no extra cost on its paid plans (not the Agentic plan) (Shopify docs).
Go headless when you need content, performance or experiences a theme genuinely can’t deliver. For most stores, a well-built Online Store 2.0 theme is cheaper to run and easier for merchants to edit.
AI in the Shopify admin
Sidekick is an AI assistant built into the Shopify admin on desktop and mobile (Shopify Help Center). Developers should plan for merchants using it alongside custom apps.
Integration Building Blocks
APIs
- • GraphQL Admin API
- • Storefront API
- • Customer Account API
Middleware
- • Data transformation
- • Error handling and retries
- • Queue management
Webhooks
- • Real-time event handling
- • Data synchronization
- • Automated notifications
Shopify Plus: Enterprise E-commerce
What Shopify Plus costs, and what it adds over the Advanced plan.
What Plus Costs
Plus starts at $2,500 a month on a 1-year term or $2,300 a month on a 3-year term. More complex, higher-volume businesses move to a variable platform fee based on revenue and business model (Shopify Plus pricing).
In the U.S., Plus has the lowest online card rate (2.25% + 30¢) and third-party payment fee (0.2%) of any plan (Shopify pricing). For high-volume stores those rates can offset much of the subscription.
What Plus Adds
Custom apps with Shopify Functions
Store-specific discount, payment, delivery and validation logic
Lower payment costs
The lowest card rate and third-party payment fee of any plan
Usage-based pricing at scale
A variable platform fee for complex, high-volume businesses
Choosing the Right Shopify Development Partner
What to ask a Shopify developer before you hire one.
Current Platform Knowledge
Ask how they handle theme blocks, Checkout Extensibility and Functions. A partner still proposing checkout.liquid edits or Scripts is working from retired tools.
Communication & Ownership
Clear updates, a written scope, and code, apps and accounts owned by you, not the agency.
Business Outcomes
The best partners talk about conversion rate, average order value and Core Web Vitals, not just features.
Working With Webvello
Webvello is a web development studio based in Roseville, California, working with clients remotely. We build and customize Shopify themes, integrations and storefront performance, alongside ecommerce SEO so the store can be found.
- Online Store 2.0 and block-based theme development
- Checkout Extensibility migrations
- Platform migrations with URL redirect mapping
- Core Web Vitals and accessibility work
- Integrations with the tools you already use
- Code, apps and accounts owned by you
Planning a Shopify Build or Upgrade?
Tell us where your store is today and what it needs to do next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to the questions store owners ask most about Shopify development.
What is Shopify web development?
Shopify web development covers the technical work of building, customizing and extending stores on Shopify: Online Store 2.0 theme development in Liquid, apps built on Shopify’s APIs, checkout customization with Checkout UI extensions and Shopify Functions, integrations with ERP and CRM systems, migrations, and headless storefronts with Hydrogen.
How much does Shopify cost in 2026?
On shopify.com in October 2026, Basic is $39/month, Grow $105/month and Advanced $399/month when billed monthly ($29, $79 and $299 billed yearly). Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month on a 3-year term or $2,500/month on a 1-year term. Card processing and third-party payment fees vary by plan.
How much does Shopify development cost?
It depends on scope. Configuring and lightly customizing an existing theme costs the least; a custom theme, custom app, Plus checkout work or a headless Hydrogen build each cost progressively more. Ask for a fixed-scope quote that lists deliverables, who owns the code and what ongoing maintenance costs.
Can I still use checkout.liquid or Shopify Scripts?
No. checkout.liquid stopped working for in-checkout pages on August 13, 2024 and for the Thank you and Order status pages on August 28, 2025; August 26, 2026 was the upgrade deadline for non-Plus stores. Shopify Scripts stopped executing on June 30, 2026. Checkout UI extensions and Shopify Functions replace them.
Can you migrate my existing store to Shopify?
Yes. Stores can be migrated from WooCommerce, Magento (Adobe Commerce), BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and custom platforms. A careful migration moves products, customers and order history, maps every old URL to a 301 redirect to protect search rankings, and is tested on a staging store before DNS is switched.
What’s the difference between Shopify and Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise plan. It has lower card rates (2.25% + 30¢ online in the U.S.), the lowest third-party payment fee (0.2%), and it is the only plan where custom apps can use Shopify Function APIs. Pricing starts at $2,300/month on a 3-year term, and complex, high-volume businesses move to a variable platform fee.
Do you provide ongoing support after launch?
Yes. Post-launch work typically covers theme and app updates, checking for Shopify platform changes like the checkout and Scripts deprecations, performance monitoring and fixes. Scope and response times are agreed in writing before launch.
Related reading
Shopify Development Services
Theme builds, checkout upgrades, integrations and migrations.
Shopify App Development
When a custom app beats stacking App Store subscriptions.
Shopify vs WooCommerce
How the two platforms compare on cost, control and upkeep.
Ecommerce SEO
Getting product and category pages found in search.